Coffee Ice Cream
A dense, smooth custard ice cream that tastes of fresh coffee rather than of cold leftover coffee. The flavour comes from whole beans steeped in the cream overnight, which adds aroma without adding water, and water is what turns ice cream icy.
At a glance
- Beans : dairy
- 1:10
- Active time
- 30 min
- Total time
- 1000 min
- Makes
- 8 scoops
- Serve
- Frozen
- Kit
- Ice cream maker
Ingredients
Note: Steeping the beans cold overnight gives the cleanest flavour. If you are short of time, steep them in the hot milk and cream for 30 minutes instead.
Method
-
Steep the beans overnight
Put the cream, milk and crushed beans in a covered jug in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours.
Cold infusion pulls out aroma and sweetness from the beans without the harsh bitterness a hot steep can bring.
Steep 12 to 24 hours -
Strain and warm
Strain out the beans, pressing them to get all the cream back. Warm the infused cream in a pan until steaming, not boiling. Stir in the espresso powder if using.
-
Temper the yolks
Whisk the yolks, sugar and salt in a bowl until pale. Pour in a third of the hot cream slowly, whisking, then pour it all back into the pan.
Adding hot cream gradually warms the yolks without scrambling them.
-
Cook to 82°C
Stir constantly over low heat with a spatula until the custard reaches 82°C and coats the back of a spoon, so a finger drawn through it leaves a clean line. Five to eight minutes. Do not let it boil.
Cook 5 to 8 minutes -
Cool fast and chill
Strain it into a bowl set in iced water and stir until cool. Cover and chill for at least four hours, or overnight.
A cold base churns faster and smoother. Faster churning means smaller ice crystals.
Chill 4 hours -
Churn and freeze
Churn in the ice cream maker until thick, like soft-serve, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a container, press baking paper on the surface, and freeze for four hours before serving.
Churn 20 to 25 minutes, freeze 4 hours
Why this works
Smooth ice cream depends on keeping ice crystals small, and the enemy is water. Ice cream is a frozen foam of fat, sugar, protein and air with ice crystals spread through it, and the more free water in the base, the bigger those crystals grow. Adding brewed coffee, which is almost entirely water, is the most common way coffee ice cream goes wrong. It tastes of coffee but it is icy and hard.
Steeping beans in the cream gets coffee flavour in without adding water. Coffee's aromatic oils and many of its flavour compounds are fat soluble, so cream is an excellent solvent for them. Crushing rather than grinding the beans gives enough surface for flavour to come out, but keeps the pieces large enough to strain easily, and avoids the bitterness and silt of ground coffee. Steeping cold, overnight, is gentler still. Hot infusion is quicker but tends to bring out more bitterness.
The custard does the structural work. Egg yolks contain lecithin and proteins that emulsify the fat and bind water, which keeps crystals small and the texture smooth. Cooking to 82°C thickens the custard as the yolk proteins begin to set, without reaching the point, a few degrees higher, where they scramble. Sugar lowers the freezing point so the ice cream stays scoopable.
A teaspoon of instant espresso powder is a useful cheat. It dissolves completely, adds almost no water, deepens the colour and pushes the flavour further than beans alone.
Variations
- Espresso ice cream: 2 tsp instant espresso powder and 60 g of beans for a darker, stronger result.
- Coffee and chocolate chip: fold in 80 g of finely chopped dark chocolate in the last minute of churning.
- Affogato base: serve a scoop with a shot of hot espresso poured over. See affogato.
- No-churn: fold 60 g of dalgona foam into 400 ml of whipped cream and a tin of condensed milk, then freeze.
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Questions
Why is my coffee ice cream icy?
Too much water in the base, usually from adding brewed coffee. Infuse beans into the cream instead, or use instant espresso powder, which adds flavour without water.
Can I make coffee ice cream with brewed coffee?
Yes, but keep it to about 60 ml of very strong espresso and expect a slightly icier result. Infusing beans gives a smoother texture.
How long should I infuse coffee beans in cream?
Twelve to twenty-four hours in the fridge for a clean flavour, or thirty minutes in hot cream if you are short of time.
Can I make coffee ice cream without a machine?
Freeze the custard in a shallow container and stir it hard every thirty minutes for three hours. It will be less smooth. A no-churn recipe with condensed milk is easier.